Feb. 8, 2014: Portland sound engineer Bob Ludwig of Gateway Mastering Studios wins three Grammy awards for his work on new musical releases, after having won four the previous year.
His 2014 haul includes Album of the Year for “Morning Phase,” by Beck; Best Engineered Album, Non-classical, for “Morning Phase”; and Best Surround Sound Album, for Beyoncé’s self-titled “Beyoncé.”
As of January 2020, Ludwig has won a total of 11 Grammys over his career and has been nominated 31 times.
In a 2017 Portland Press Herald interview, Ludwig says he and his wife moved to Portland in 1992, thinking that “if the business fails, at least we’ll be in a place that we like.”
The only professional offer Ludwig claims to regret having turned town, just after splitting up with a girlfriend, was one to work on Pink Floyd’s 1979 album “The Wall.”
His explanation: “I didn’t think I could muster listening to depressing songs all day.”
Joseph Owen is a retired copy desk chief of the Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal and board member of the Kennebec Historical Society. He can be contacted at: jowen@mainetoday.com.
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